Premium
Appearance‐related residual injury, posttraumatic stress, and body image: Associations within a sample of female victims of intimate partner violence
Author(s) -
Weaver Terri L.,
Resnick Heidi S.,
Kokoska Mimi S.,
Etzel Julie C.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.20274
Subject(s) - distress , psychology , injury prevention , domestic violence , poison control , clinical psychology , posttraumatic stress , psychological distress , scars , psychiatry , suicide prevention , medicine , anxiety , medical emergency , surgery
One third of women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) receive some form of injury. After acute injuries have healed, a victim's physical appearance may be altered with residual changes including marks or scars. This study included 56 female victims of IPV (31 with appearance‐related residual injury and a comparison group of 25 with no appearance‐related residual injury) and examined the associations between violence‐related experiences, body image distress, and symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Appearance‐related residual injury status moderated the relationship between body image distress and symptoms of PTSD. In addition, within the appearance‐related residual injury group, body image distress emerged a unique predictor of PTSD explaining incremental variance beyond that explained by severity of psychological maltreatment.